APRN Survey on Roles, Functions, and Competencies

Nursing education is undergoing a major transition with a shift in advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) educational preparation from a master’s degree to the clinical doctorate that is targeted to be fully implemented by 2015. This paradigm shift in nursing education is expanding the role and scope of APRNs. Some doctor of nursing practice (DNP) programs for APRNs focus on the provision of comprehensive care to a panel of patients. These APRNs with DNP (DNP/APRN) programs in comprehensive care expand master’s preparation to prepare expert clinicians who are knowledgeable about individuals’ health care needs across the life span; to practice in all clinical settings; to analyze and interpret evidence as the basis for health care choices; and to engage patients in a collaborative relationship to provide continuous, coordinated services that include health promotion, disease prevention, and definitive disease management in all clinical settings (Smolowitz, Honig, & Reinisch, 2010).

Nursing has a unique opportunity to track this new DNP/APRN subgroup from its inception using systematic and structured data collection. With this paradigm shift in nursing education, the role and scope of APRNs will continue to evolve. We developed a survey that could be distributed nationally to DNP/APRNs to (a) track roles and competencies of doctorally prepared nurse clinicians in relation to comprehensive care and (b) identify performance measures and quality indicators for delivery of comprehensive care. The purpose of this pilot study was to test the survey on a sample of master’s prepared APRN (M/APRN) and DNP/APRNs engaged in faculty practice at the Columbia University School of Nursing.